The Spare They Came Begging For novel · Chapter 12 of 32

Chapter 12: Pair One

The headline said, "Family Forged Nurse's Consent to Kidney Donation, Records Show."

Under it was the photo of Verity in my scrubs.

Under that, side by side, the front and back of the invoice.

CORD BLOOD. DAY ONE.

By noon it was the most-read story on the Globe's site.

By two it was on every local station.

By four, somebody had found the foundation's filings and made a graphic of the $412,860 that went around the internet faster than the clip had.

The clip of me walking out came down at 4:30.

Nobody from the foundation said why.

I slept from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon on Moira's top floor and woke up to two hundred texts.

Half were from people I hadn't heard from since nursing school.

One was from the daughter of the man in Bed 4.

"I'm sorry about what I said. My dad's going home Friday. Thank you."

One was from a number I didn't know.

"This is the camera operator from the dinner. I'm glad you're okay. I'd like to talk to you someday about what I filmed."

I didn't answer that one yet.

I saved it.

On Friday morning, the state lifted the freeze on Harbor's donor program.

The letter said "in light of new information."

Conor forwarded it to me with no message.

Then a second email arrived, a minute later.

"ROOF."

But first I went to Room 312.

The donor advocate was eating a yogurt at her desk with the Globe open in front of her.

She looked at me over her glasses on their beaded chain.

"Well," she said. "You've had a week."

"I need to tell you something before anybody else does."

"Sit."

I sat.

I'd practiced the sentence on the bus. It still came out crooked.

"I'm falling for Dr. Mahoney."

She put her spoon down.

"I haven't done anything about it," I said. "Neither has he. But I don't want to sit in this chair in three weeks and lie to you about why I'm doing this."

She studied me for a long moment.

"Is he the reason you want to donate?"

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